First World of Warcraft (Sam Raimi to direct the film), now Microsoft, in collaboration with some of the most acclaimed anime creators, today unveiled a new project called "Halo Legends," which will bring the "Halo" franchise and its sweeping sci-fi saga to an entirely new medium, in the form of several original anime short films.

"Halo Legends," which will officially debut at a panel presentation today at Comic-Con International in San Diego, is being produced by Microsoft?s 343 Industries and features creative direction from anime pioneer Shinji Aramaki, director of the critically acclaimed ?Appleseed? and ?Appleseed EX Machina? anime features, and Mamoru Oshii, director of the landmark ?Ghost in the Shell? movies, with additional production from Joseph Chou of J-Spec Pictures. The compilation will include a series of short stories that explore different times, themes and characters from the ?Halo? universe and will be distributed globally by Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. company. Influential studios that are part of the project include the creators behind some of the most popular and celebrated anime to come from Japan, such as ?The Animatrix,? ?Cowboy Bebop,? ?Fullmetal Alchemist,? ?Ghost in the Shell,? ?Dragon Ball? and more.

Set hundreds of years in the future, the ?Halo? series of games and novels chronicle mankind?s struggles against an alien collective known as the Covenant. The Covenant is scouring the universe for relics it believes will lead it to a new life and is destroying civilizations and planets that stand in its way. The most prolific hero from the fiction is a super soldier or Spartan known as Master Chief, who is the main protagonist in the original trilogy of Xbox and Xbox 360 ?Halo? titles. In the trilogy, Master Chief discovers that the Covenant is intent on activating a series of mysterious ring worlds known as ?Halos,? which would ultimately exterminate life throughout the universe. He becomes mankind?s champion in a race against an unrelenting enemy in its most desperate hour. Through The New York Times best-selling novels, comics and additional Xbox 360 games such as ?Halo Wars? and the upcoming ?Halo 3: ODST,? the universe has grown and tales of other heroes have emerged.

The complete ?Halo Legends? collection will be distributed by Microsoft partner Warner Home Video, which will have more to announce on its release and distribution plans soon.